Contents
Two
Overview
Diziet Sma departs her lakeside stronghold with drone Skaffen-Amtiskaw to rendezvous with the picket Xenophobe. A flashback highlights the drone’s lethal efficiency, prompting Sma’s demand for restraint. A stand-in replaces her planetside. Crucially, Skaffen-Amtiskaw reveals Zakalwe has evaded surveillance, forcing them to locate him before the mission can proceed.
Summary
Morning at Sma’s dam-side home reveals the aftermath of a party as Skaffen-Amtiskaw retrieves a disguised guard-drone and trades quips with Diziet Sma. Sma leaves her lover Relstoch Sussepin sleeping, bids her staff goodbye, and opts to drive rather than fly as the drone manages logistics.
At a hilltop fortress, Sma contemplates war and cities while dictating last-minute errands. News arrives that the picket Xenophobe has entered the system and is transferring her stand-in. Children gawk at the hovering drone, underscoring the technological disparity Sma brazenly conceals.
A flashback shows the drone’s past intervention on a frontier world: raiders attack an inn, and Skaffen-Amtiskaw annihilates them with overwhelming force, including a knife missile. Horrified, Sma orders the drone to use minimum force henceforth, asserting control over its methods.
Sma and the drone bypass public areas to reach the keep’s restricted roof, board a near-invisible module, and launch to rendezvous with Xenophobe. As they ascend, the drone considers the bad news: despite Culture tech, Cheradenine Zakalwe has given their tail the slip after resigning.
Back on the rooftop, a perfect stand-in exits and blends with a tour group, preserving Sma’s cover. En route, Sma learns that before any diplomacy with Beychae can begin, she and Skaffen-Amtiskaw must first locate the missing Zakalwe.
Who Appears
- Diziet SmaSpecial Circumstances agent leaving her residence; recalls a violent past incident; installs a stand-in; learns Zakalwe is missing.
- Skaffen-AmtiskawAcerbic SC drone; manages logistics, recalls lethal intervention, receives Sma’s restraint order, reveals Zakalwe slipped surveillance.
- Cheradenine ZakalweOff-screen; critical target who has evaded Culture tail, becoming the immediate priority to find.
- Relstoch SussepinSma’s lover from the previous night; glimpsed sleeping as she departs.
- MaikrilSma’s major-domo at the dam residence; wrangles pets as Sma leaves.
- Sma’s stand-inA perfect double deployed to maintain Sma’s presence planetside among tourists.
- XenophobeVery fast picket ship arriving to collect Sma and the drone for the mission.